Tapered tenon-type coupling device for connecting the elements of two-piece ski

ABSTRACT

Tenon-and-mortise-type coupling device comprising two coupling members provided in the proximal free ends of the ski elements of a separate-type ski, respectively, ensures firm connection of the ski elements and enables the user to connect and disconnect the elements in one step without any troublesome connecting or disconnecting operation which is performed by the use of screws and a driver.

United States Patent Inventor Masnjl Mnsutln Tokyo, Japan Appl. No. 808,520 Filed Mar. 19, 1969 Patented Aug. 3, 19711 Assignee Mlrlon Kinmn 'llorolltulti Knbusltilti liaisltn Tokyo, .lnpmn Priority Dec. 28, 1968 Japan 1 112,415 11 TAPERED TENON-TYPE COUPLING DEVICE IFOR CONNECTING THE ELEMENTS 01" TWO-PIECE Skill 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Fms.

U.S. 1C1 ..280/1l 1.13111,

Int. Cl A63c 5/02 fieltloilsearch 280/11.13;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/1928 Hildebrant 287/103 9/1932 Silvestri 280/1 1.13 K 4/1940 Altorfer 280/1 1.13 KS 10/1948 Beaudin 280/1 1,13 14F 5/1957 Meland 280/1 1.13 KF 9/1963 Day et al... 280/11 13 KS 4/1969 Noguchi.... 280/] 1.13 KS FOREIGN PATENTS 4/1943 Switzerland 280/1 1.13 1(S Primary Examiner-Le0 Friaglia Assistant ExaminerMilton L. Smith Art0meyBeveridge & DeGrandi ABSTRACT: Tenon-and-mortise-type coupling device comprising two coupling members provided in the proximal free ends of the ski elements of a separate-type ski, respectively, ensures firm connection of the ski elements and enables the user to connect and disconnect the elements in one step without any troublesome connecting or disconnecting operation which is performed by the use of screws and a driver.

Patented Aug. 3, 1971 3,596,918

2 Bantu-Shoot 1 FIG.

Patented Aug. 3, 1971 2 Shams-Show m TAPEBED TENON-TVPE QUUIPLENG lDlEi/KCIE IFOIR ONNMITHNG THE ELEMENTfi Ulf TWO-PHIE CE Slill BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention The present invention is concerned with skis in general, and more particularly. it relates to tapered tenonand mortisetype coupling device for securely connecting the elements of a separate-type, two-piece ski into an integrated single ski of normal length and for disintegrate the connected elements apart, each in one step.

2. Description of the Prior Art To convenience the transportation of skis and to eliminate the inconvenience of carrying a pair of conventional long skis, there have been developed two-piece skis each consisting of two separate ski elements which can be connected to form an integrated single ski and which, after the use, can be disintegrated apart into separate ski elements.

As a matter of fact, skis are placed under severe conditions during skiing. During descent as well as horizontal run, skis are subjected to the influence of various complicated stresses. Skis are required to overcome these stresses which are a plied thereto. With respect to two-piece or separate-type skis which have been rather recently developed, especially the joint is subjected to a great deal of stresses. Should there occur loosening or disengagement of the joint, this can well constitute the cause of a serious accident. in the manufacture of separate-type skis, therefore, a special caution has to be exercised in the designing and construction of thc'coupling means so that the joint will not fail to resist the complicated stresses applied thereto during skiing and that there will not develop any loosening and disengagement of the coupling members to thereby prevent a disaster from breaking out unexpectedly during skiing on a horizontal terrain as well as during Skiing along a hillside slope during which time the running speed is great.

A conventional typical separate-type or two-piece ski is of the following structure. One half-elcment of the two-piece ski has a vertical, proximal flat. free end which is to be brought into abutment with the corresponding proximal vertical flat free end of the other half-element when both elements are coupled together by a coupling device. From said vertical flat end ofthe first half-element, there extend outwardly longitudinally two metal rods each being provided, in the foremost end portion thereof, with a threaded hole. The vertical flat end of the other half-element of the ski, in turn, is provided with two holes for receiving said two rods which extend from the first half-element. Said other half-element of the ski is provided, on both sides, with threaded holes, one on each side, at such sites as will be brought in register with the threaded holes of the rods of the first half-elernent when the rods are inserted in the receiving holes of the vertical flat end of the other halfelement. in order to connect these two elements of the ski together, the rods are inserted into said receiving holes and, thereafter, screw members are threaded, through the aforesaid threaded holes on each side of the second half-element, into the threaded holes of the rods which are already inserted in the receiving holes, and thus, the first half-element is fastened tightly tothe other half-element to form a single, integrated ski of the normal length.

However, the integrated ski which is so fabricated by conneeting the two separate elements of ski in the aforesaid manner is such that they are merely coupled to each other at their vertical fiat free ends, by establishing a connection thercbctweenonly by the use of the two screws which are threaded, through the holes formed on the sides of the second half-element, into the threaded holes of the two rods of the first half'element which are inserted in the receiving holes of the second half-element. This joint which is established by the engagement between the screws and the rods will be subjected, during skiing, to various complicated stresses. Therefore, when this joint loses its ability to resist the applied stresses and when, accordingly, there is developed a loosening in the coupling members. this not only will not give sound skiing in either descent and horizontal run, but also would possibly serve as an important cause for a serious accident. In addition to the foregoing drawbacks, the aforesaid conventional two-piece ski requires a complicated procedure and labor to connect the two separate elements of ski together and also to disintegrate these elements apart after use, since the connection is effected by means of screws which, in turn, will require the use of a tool such as a driver to tightly drive the screws into the threaded holes of the mating element, and since the disintegration of the connected elements has to be done also by the use of the driver for unscrewing the screws. This offers the skiers troublesome labor and consumes a great deal of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks and inconveniences en countered in the two-piece skis equipped with the coupling device of the prior art and to provide an improved tapered tenon-type coupling device for use in connecting the two separate elements of a two-piece ski, which is capable of sufficiently coping with the various complicated stresses which are applied to the joint of the two ski elements throughout the period in which the joint is always subjected to severe conditions in both descent and horizontal run, by arranging the coupling device to comprise two taper-faced coupling units having tapered members and being adapted to establish firm connection therebetween by simply applying one of the units to the other in a sort of tenon-to-rnortise fashion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tapered tenon-type coupling device for firmly connecting the two separate elements of a two-piece ski, which is free from the development of loosening of the joint members and which is capable of preventing the disengagement of the joining members by the connection between a tapered tenon-type coupling unit to a tapered mortise-type coupling unit both of which constitute the coupling device.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tapered tenon-type coupling device for firmly connecting the two separate elements of a two-piece ski, which is not subjected to the influence of the various complicated stresses which are applied to the joint of the two elements and which, accordingly, is capable of preventing the occurrence of damages or breakage, during skiing, of the coupling units both of which constitute the coupling device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a tapered tenon-type coupling device for firmly connecting the two separate elements of a two-piece ski, which is capable of connecting the two elements of ski in a single step.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a tapered tenon-type coupling device for firmly connecting the two separate elements of a two-piece ski, which comprises two coupling units of the type described which can be manufactured by mass production and which, accordingly, can be ohtaincd at a low cost.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a tapered tenon-type coupling device which comprises two coupling units of the type described which, after they are joined together to establish a firm connection therebetween, will not develop casual disintegration of the units.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tapered tenon-type coupling device of the type described which comprises two coupling units which are such that, by the provision, on each bottom side thereof, of a projection to block the impact of snow, there is reinforced the band member which is applied to the entire length of the bottom side of the ski and, accordingly, this snow impact blocking projection will serve in such a way that the band member will not come off or scraped apart easily therefrom.

IN THE DRAWING:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the essential parts of the two coupling units, in separate state, of the coupling device embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side elevation, in an enlarged scale, taken along the line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 1';

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the essential parts of the coupling units when they are coupled together;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, in an enlarged scale, taken along the line C-C in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is,a bottom view of the holding lever means showing the internal mechanism thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawing in particular, reference numerals l and 2 represent coupling units, respectively, both of which are provided as integral articles, by relying on the diecasting technique in this embodiment. A longitudinal greater part of said coupling unit 1 is of a'substantially rectangularcross-sectional configuration. In FIG. 1, the leftside portion of the coupling unit 1 is of two inclined underside I surfaces flanking the longitudinal intennediate underside portion, the planes of these two inclined surfaces intersecting the 2 plane of the top side of said unit. These inclined surfaces 3 are coupling unit 1 is provided in the form of a receiving hole 7 or recess which is closed at one end by a tapered wall 6 which, in turn, joins the bottom wall of the coupling unit 1. The portion of this coupling unit 1 on the right side to this wall 6, as viewed in FIG. 2, is, as stated above, recessed inwardly to provide a hollow in which is received the tapered end portion of one 8 of the elements of a two-piece ski. This element 8 of the ski is fixed firmly to said coupling unit 1 by the use of a screw 9.

The aforesaid element 8 of the ski may be made of either hard and tough wood, metal or synthetic resin material or any other appropriate material. There are provided a couple of threaded attachment holes 10 and 10 in the upper surface on the left side of the coupling unit 1. These threaded holes are intended for receiving, in screwing fashion, the threaded attachrnent rods of the ordinary metal fittings (not shown) which are adapted to accommodate the ski shoes therein. Numerals 11 and 11 represent anchoring metal fittings which are provided with anchoring hooks 11a and 110, respectively. The undersides of both the coupling unit 1 and said one element 8 of the ski carry, being adherently attached thereto, a band 12 made of a-material consisting of a hard synthetic resin and it extends longitudinally of the bottom sides of these two members. The left-side portion of this band 12, as seen in FIG. 2, extends up to the base of the snow impact blocking projection 4 which will be described later. Numeral 13 represents a groove having a semicircular cross-sectional configuration and being fonned throughout the entire longitudinal length of the bottom side centrally of said element 8- of the ski. Numerals 14 and 14 represent the longitudinal side edges of the ski.

On the other hand, the coupling unit 2 as seen on the left side in FIG. 1 is provided with a projecting member 15 which is substantially triangular in lateral configuration which extends to the right side from the central portion of the coupling unit 2. Besides,the two upper side faces of the coupling unit 2 flanking said projection 15 and extending from the baseline of said projection 15 to the apex 15a thereof are provided in the form of tapered faces 16 and 16 so that these tapered faces 16 and 16 are adapted to be engaged, in a sort of tenon-and-mortise fashion, by the tapered face 13 of the coupling unit 1, when both coupling units are connected. The coupling unit 2 is provided also, at the foremost end of the underside face, with a snow impact blocking projection 17 which is adapted to be brought into surface engagement, in abutting fashion, with the snow impact blocking projection 4 of the coupling unit 1. The coupling unit 2 is so formed as to have a hollow interior section into which is inserted the tapered end portion of the other element 18 of the two-piece ski. This other element 18 of the ski is firmly fixed to the coupling unit 2 by a screw (not shown) to form an integral assembly. To the upper face of the coupling unit 2 is securely attached, by a plurality of anchoring screws 21 and 22, a supporting plate 20 for supporting an anchoring lever 19. An anchoring member 24 having an anchoring shaft 23 is supported on said lever 19 by a movable shaft 25 in such a way that there is provided an allowance for said anchoring member 24 to move substantially longitudinally for a predetermined distance so that its anchoring shaft 23 may accordingly move to the hook edge of the anchoring metal fittings to be hooked therein and then to be pulled backwardly to engage the anchoring recesses of the hooks 11a and 11a. Said movable shaft 25 is inserted in elongated slots 26 which are formed through the sidewalls of the lever 19. Said shaft 25 passes through the arms of a channel member 27 to support it. The end portion of a threaded rod 28 is screwed, via a nut (not shown), into said channel member 27. The base portion of said threaded rod is supported by another channel member 30 through a split washer 29. By turning said threaded rod 28, the channel member 27 is caused to make vertical movement while being guided by said elongated slot 26, as best seen in FIG. 6. whereupon, the anchoring member 24 is moved either to the left or right as will be understood by referring to FIG. 1. Accordingly, the effective length of the anchoring member 24 can be adjusted freely as required. Also, the bottom face of said coupling unit 2 is provided with a band 12 and also with longitudinal side edges 14 and 14 in the same manner as that described in connection with the coupling unit 1.

Description will hereunder be made on the procedure of coupling together the separate elements of the two-piece ski which are arranged as stated above, into an integrated single ski of a normal length.

First, the foremost free end of the projection 15 of the coupling unit 2 is applied to the opening of the inverted U- shape guide section 5 of the coupling unit 1 and therefrom said projecting member 15 is pushed into said hollow guide section. whereupon said projecting member 15 will be guided by the guide section 5 to be snugly received into the receiving hole 7 (FIG. 5). As a result, the snow impact blocking projections 4 and 17 of both coupling units 1 and 2 are brought into tight abutting engagement to each other. After this relationship of these two coupling units 1 and 2 have been established, the lever 19 of the coupling unit 1 is swung to the right with respect to FIG. 1 to bring the anchoring shaft 23 of the anchoring member 24 into engagement with the anchoring hooks 11a and 110. Then, the lever 19 is swung again backwardly to the left, as viewed in FIG. 1, to its initial position, with the result that the anchoring shaft 23 will be received in the recesses of the hooks 11a and 11a to establish a firm connection of these two coupling units 1 and 2. In this coupling operation, the lever 19 is supported by three shafts, i.e. the shaft 23, the shaft for swinging said lever 19, and the movable shaft 25 of the anchoring member 24. Therefore, once the coupling units 1 and 2 are connected together by the operation of the lever 19, there is no fear for the occurrence of casual disconnection of these two coupling units. In order to relieve them of the connection thus established, however, it is only necessary to repeat this operation in a reverse order.

The present invention has been described with respect to the arrangement that each half-element of the two-piece ski is of a tapered end to be inserted into the tapered recess which is provided at one end of each coupling unit. It is to be understood that each half of the two-piece ski may have an end which is flat vertically, so that this end portion is inserted only for a short distance from the edge of the opening or the hole of the mating coupling unit. By so constructing the end-face configuration of the halves or elements of the two-piece ski, the manufacture of the ski will be simplified and the cost thereof will be reduced accordingly.

The foregoing description has been directed to the structure of the coupling units which are made of a metal material. It is to be understood, however, that the coupling units may be molded with a hard and tough synthetic resin or like materials.

What I claim is:

1. in a tapered tenon'type coupling device for use in firmly connecting the separate elements of a two-piece ski into an integral single ski of normal length with each of said separate elements having a band affixed to its bottom face, said device comprising first and second coupling units adapted to be attached to said separate elements, respectively, said coupling units being structured so as to be coupled to each other in a tenon-to-mortise fashion by their tapered members, the improvement wherein:

at least one of said units is provided with a snow impact blocking projection for protecting the adjacent ends of said bands, said projection extending downwardly from the bottom face at the free end of said coupling unit for a short distance to such an extent that the lowermost free edge of said projection is aligned with the lower surface of said ski; said first coupling unit (ll) definessaid mortise and comprises a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration for a greater portion of its longitudinal length, said portion having two relatively wide inclined underside surfaces (3) extending from the free end of said unit, which has a rectangular cross section, down to a snow impact blocking projection (4), and, a guide section (5) between said two inclined surfaces, said guide section having theform of an inverted Ushaped recess with relatively short legs and being open to the underside of said first unit and extending longitudinally thereof, said guide section defining a tenon-receiving hole (7) which is closed at one end by a tapered wall (6) which joins with the bottom wall of said first unit; and

said second coupling unit defines said tenon and comprises a central projecting member having a substantially triangular cross section, two relatively wide upper faces (16) of said unit flanking said projecting member and being tapered and extending from the baseline to a snow impact blocking projection (17) adjacent to the apex of said central projecting member, and the respective ends of said upper faces having a substantially rectangular cross section.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said coupling device includes means for quickly connecting and disconnecting said device, said means including an anchoring hook member mounted on one of said units and means mounted on the other of said units for detachably engaging said hook member.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the snow impact blocking projections of respective coupling units are brought into tight abutting engagement when said first and second units are coupled in tenon-to-mortise fashion.

d. The invention of claim ll wherein one of said coupling units is provided with a holding lever means which is adapted to be detachably engaged by an anchoring hook member provided on the other end of said coupling units to thereby hold the connection of said coupling units when connected together, said holding lever means comprisin a supporting mem er (20) attached] to one of said coupling units; a lever member (19) supported on said supporting member for swinging relative to said supporting member;

an anchoring member (24$) supported on said lever member by a movable shaft (25) inserted in elongated slots (26) which are formed through respective sidewalls of said lever member in such a way that there is provided an allowance for said anchoring member to move substantially longitudinally for a predetermined distance so that an anchoring shaft (23) mounted on said anchoring member may accordingly move to be engaged by said anchoring hook member (11); a channel member (27) rotatably mounted on said movable shaft; a threaded rod (28) screwed into said channel member at its end portion;

another channel member (30) attached to said lever member and supporting said threaded rod whereby said rod can be turned to adjust the effective length of said anchoring member as required.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said coupling units are independent molded or cast integral units made from rigid tough materials. 

1. In a tapered tenon-type coupling device for use in firmly connecting the separate elements of a two-piece ski into an integral single ski of normal length with each of said separate elements having a band affixed to its bottom face, said device comprising first and second coupling units adapted to be attached to said separate elements, respectively, said coupling units being structured so as to be coupled to each other in a tenon-tomortise fashion by their tapered members, the improvement wherein: at least one of said units is provided with a snow impact blocking projection for protecting the adjacent ends of said bands, said projection extending downwardly from the bottom face at the free end of said coupling unit for a short distance to such an extent that the lowermost free edge of said projection is aligned with the lower surface of said ski; said first coupling unit (1) defines said mortise and comprises a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration for a greater portion of its longitudinal length, said portion having two relatively wide inclined underside surfaces (3) extending from the free end of saId unit, which has a rectangular cross section, down to a snow impact blocking projection (4), and, a guide section (5) between said two inclined surfaces, said guide section having the form of an inverted U-shaped recess with relatively short legs and being open to the underside of said first unit and extending longitudinally thereof, said guide section defining a tenon-receiving hole (7) which is closed at one end by a tapered wall (6) which joins with the bottom wall of said first unit; and said second coupling unit defines said tenon and comprises a central projecting member (15) having a substantially triangular cross section, two relatively wide upper faces (16) of said unit flanking said projecting member and being tapered and extending from the baseline to a snow impact blocking projection (17) adjacent to the apex of said central projecting member, and the respective ends of said upper faces having a substantially rectangular cross section.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said coupling device includes means for quickly connecting and disconnecting said device, said means including an anchoring hook member mounted on one of said units and means mounted on the other of said units for detachably engaging said hook member.
 3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the snow impact blocking projections of respective coupling units are brought into tight abutting engagement when said first and second units are coupled in tenon-to-mortise fashion.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein one of said coupling units is provided with a holding lever means which is adapted to be detachably engaged by an anchoring hook member provided on the other end of said coupling units to thereby hold the connection of said coupling units when connected together, said holding lever means comprising: a supporting member (20) attached to one of said coupling units; a lever member (19) supported on said supporting member for swinging relative to said supporting member; an anchoring member (24) supported on said lever member by a movable shaft (25) inserted in elongated slots (26) which are formed through respective sidewalls of said lever member in such a way that there is provided an allowance for said anchoring member to move substantially longitudinally for a predetermined distance so that an anchoring shaft (23) mounted on said anchoring member may accordingly move to be engaged by said anchoring hook member (11); a channel member (27) rotatably mounted on said movable shaft; a threaded rod (28) screwed into said channel member at its end portion; another channel member (30) attached to said lever member and supporting said threaded rod whereby said rod can be turned to adjust the effective length of said anchoring member as required.
 5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said coupling units are independent molded or cast integral units made from rigid tough materials. 